Learn more about gerontology and aged care.
Valuable learning for career development or retraining.
As our population is ageing, there are more job vacancies available in the care of the elderly. Studying Aged Care And Counselling will provide you with a foundation to retrain or improve your knowledge of aged care to improve your job prospects.
Through your studies you will:
- Gain an understanding of the ageing process and how it can affect individuals.
- Learn about the changing nature of relationships as people age.
- Learn about how depression can affect the elderly.
- Develop an understanding about changes in physicality as people age.
- Learn how to seek and provide support.
- Learn about common risks, and how to manage them.
- Develop an understanding of possible health problems.
- Study loss, and how to support people through grief.
Course Content & Structure:
- Aged Care and Counselling is a 100-hour course which you study by distance learning.
- The course is available to start at any time, and you study at your own pace.
- You will be supported by experienced tutors during your studies.
- The course comprises 9 lessons, as shown below.
Understanding Ageing
- What do we mean by Ageing? (Population Ageing. The Effects of the Ageing Population.)
- Theories of Human Development. (Erikson’s Theory of Development. Levinson.)
- Theories of Retirement. (Disengagement Theory. Activity Theory. Atchley’s Model of Retirement. Retirement Counselling.)
Lifestyle Changes
- Retirement. (Relationships. Relationships with Children. Relationships with Partners/Husband/wife. Widowhood/Disruption of Marriage/Life Partnership Due to Death. Relationships with Grandchildren. Friendships. Sexuality and Older People.)
- Cognitive Changes – Intelligence.
- Depression. (Determining Type of Depression. Unipolar Disorder. Bipolar Disorder. Features of Depression. Causes of Depression. Risk factors for Depression. Men and Depression. Depression and Older People. Symptoms. Suicide Risk and the Elderly.)
Deterioration of Health
- Ageing. (Physical Changes. Sex.)
- Chronic Health Problems. (Osteoarthritis. Rheumatoid Arthritis. Incontinence. Problems with Eyes. Deafness.)
- Factors in Maintaining a Healthy Lifestyle into Old Age.
- Human Nutrition. (Important Factors in Nutrition.)
- Pain Relief.
- Medication.
- Stress. (Consequences of Stress. Stress and the Immune System.)
- Personality and Heart Disease. (Irritable Bowel Syndrome and Ulcers. Ways to Stay Healthy.)
Support Services
- Preventative Services.
- Professionals Involved in Supporting Older People. (Occupational Therapists. Physiotherapists. Complimentary Practitioners. Aids to Communication.)
- Alternative Treatments.
- Counselling Professionals. (Role of the Counsellor. Counselling and the Elderly. Group Therapy. Online and Telephone Counselling.)
- Other Support Services (Meals on Wheels. Funeral Services).
Enablement Techniques
- Common Risks for Elderly. (Risk of Falling. Vision. Hearing. Nutrition. Sexuality.)
- Techniques to maintain quality of life. (Driving a car. Banking. Shopping. House cleaning. Gardening. Socialising. Pets. Exercise and Sport.)
- Rehabilitation. (Specific Types of Rehabilitation.)
Grief and Loss Counselling
- What is Grief.
- Psychological Aspects of Long-Term Grief. (Family, Work, Financial, Loneliness. Psychosocial Factors.)
- Grief Counselling.
- Counsellors Response and Intervention.
- Depression.
Debilitating and Terminal Illness
- Dementia.
- Kinds of Dementia. (Alzheimer’s Disease. Vascular Dementia.)
- Strategies for Counselling a Demented Client. (Communication. Daily Activities. Dealing with Sleeping Difficulties. Hallucinations and Delusions. Wandering. Depression.)
- Terminal Illness. (Patient’s Response. Anxiety. Depression. Guilt or Anger. Défense Mechanisms.)
- Preparing for Approaching Death. (Practical Preparations. Emotional Reponses of the Dying. Responses of Family and Friends.)
Losing a Loved One
- The Importance of Loss. (Assessment. History of Loss. Role of the Deceased. Death of a Child. Stigmatised Death. Co-Morbidity.)
- Counselling Strategies. (Therapeutic Writing. Bibliotherapy. The Use of Rituals. Bereavement Support Groups.)
- Special Therapeutic Considerations. (Traumatic, Sudden, and Stigmatised Loss. On-going Support. Social Stigmas of Suicide.)
Ethics and Intervention
- Barriers to Aged Care Counselling. (Addressing the Client’s Needs.)
- Common Legal and Ethical Issues in Aged Care. (Decision Making Capacity. Competence. Informed Consent. Confidentiality. Euthanasia. Multicultural Differences.)
Each lesson is completed with an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school’s tutors, and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.
People Change when they Get Old
Growing old is both natural and unavoidable. Everyone gets older, and as you age, you change both physically and mentally.
- Understanding these changes can help an older person to accept and adapt to what is happening to them.
- An understanding of these changes can help carers provide better support for the elderly.
Cognitive changes are only one area of change for the Elderly
Older people may fear ageing because they fear that they will ‘lose’ their intellect, leading to cognitive impairment and irrational behaviour. However, intellectual decline is not an inevitable consequence of a person ageing. Research shows that a loss of general cognitive function does not necessarily occur as a result of ageing, and even where it does occur, it is not necessarily disruptive. Older adults will:
- Tend to learn more slowly.
- Perform less well than younger adults on tasks that involve memorising something or using imagination.
- But they will make up for this in terms of their practical knowledge based on life experience.
Older adults sometimes complain about not being able to remember things as well as they did when they were younger. This appears to be due to sensory storage problem in the short term memory rather than long term memory processes. This will result in older people finding it harder to remember new names and places than they do in remembering older names and places.
Repetition and practice and can help minimise memory decline and the reduction in other cognitive functions. Older adults can improve their scores in memory ability tests after only a few hours training. Examples of activities that can help make a difference to the cognitive and memory functions of older adults include:
- Having hobbies
- Learning to use a computer
- Working on puzzles and crosswords
- Reading
- Learning new things.
Over recent years, there has been an increased interest from older adults in continuing their education. Many colleges and community centres will offer classes for older people. This shows that older people are willing and able to continue learning.
Depression
A depressive disorder is an illness, involving mood, body and thoughts. It affects the way a person sleeps, eats, feels about themselves and other things. A depressive disorder is not the same as a passing sad mood, nor is it a sign of personal weakness that the person can push away. People with depressive illnesses cannot just ‘pull themselves together’, they need treatment and support, which can last for weeks, months or years.
The three most common forms of depression are:
- Unipolar or Major Depression – where the person has a combination of symptoms that interfere with their ability to enjoy life, sleep, eat, study and work. This type of depression may occur only once or several times during a life time.
- Dysthymia is a less severe type of depression, with long-term chronic symptoms that do not disable, but which prevent the person from feeling good or from functioning well. They may also experience major depressive episodes at some point during their lives.
- Bipolar Disorder is also called manic-depressive illness. Bipolar disorder is characterised by cycling mood changes of severe highs (mania) and lows (depression). If untreated, it can deteriorate into a psychotic state.
The Aged Care and Counselling course looks at many different areas, including suicide.
We live in an ageing population. Aged Care is developing into an essential service – whether in a professional or personal capacity.
- Study this course for professional development, as a way onto a new career path, or to gain a deeper understanding about how you can help your loved ones.
This course is suitable for anyone who would like to work with older people or who would like to improve their knowledge of elderly care, such as
- Carers.
- Care workers.
- Support workers.
- Rehabilitation workers.
- Occupational therapists.
- Physiotherapists.
- Doctors.
- Nurses.
- Family members, and more.
